Build muscle lose fat: this 10-week high-intensity training program will help you achieve the impossible—adding muscle while losing bodyfat

Muscle & Fitness, May, 2006 by Chris Aceto

The magic of alternating the cutting dietary phase with the building phase is that you get the fat-burning effects of a low-insulin environment and the muscle-building effects of a high-insulin environment. Many individuals fail by dieting without a building phase, which results in a steep drop in metabolism and causes a loss of muscle mass. Conversely, traditional mass-building or bulking diets, in which calories are kept high consistently, result in a buildup of unwanted bodyfat. By alternating phases, you can add muscle while losing bodyfat simultaneously, but you must follow the program carefully to ensure an optimal response.

To order Chris Aceto's training and nutrition books Championship Bodybuilding and Everything You Need to Know About Fat Loss, visit www.nutramedia.com

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HIGH/LOW

>> The key to building muscle while stripping fat is alternating heavy and light training days.

BURNOUT

>> Done at the end of your high-rep chest workout, the cable crossover can really pump your pecs.

CHANGE PHASE

Testosterone aids muscle growth and fat-burning, but its levels decline when a person diets too long. Alternating dietary phases prevents this from happening

BUILD MUSCLE This workout uses heavier weights, fewer reps and longer rest times

THINK CUT Aerobic exercise can greatly increase your fat-burning, but don't overdo it

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DIET

>> Consume six high-calorie, high-protein meals on Fridays and Saturdays (see the "Get Big Meal Plan"). Integrating higher-calorie days into your diet helps prevent your body from slowing its metabolism and using muscle tissue for fuel. Getting those extra calories is critical to adding muscle.

>> Ingest carbs at every meal to keep energy levels elevated and restore muscle and liver glycogen. This gives you the energy to train heavy.

SUPPLEMENTATION

>> Take 3-5 grams of creatine both before a workout and with your posttraining meal to boost strength, which translates into more mass.

>> Consume 5-10 grams of glutamine before a workout and with your postworkout meal. This increases your ability to manufacture glycogen.

>> Ingest 400-600 mg of magnesium, which helps make ATP, the high-energy fuel that powers training; one study showed consuming 560 mg a day can increase strength. Take it with 10-15 mg of Vitamin [B.sub.8] to help get it to cells. These can be taken before bed in the form of a ZMA supplement.

TRAINING

>> Perform two consecutive weeks of heavy-weight training in the lower-rep ranges (doing the "Build Muscle Workout"). Follow this by a single week of the "Get Lean Workout," then return to this protocol.

>> Keep your rest periods a bit longer for improved recuperation from previous sets. Training with heavy weights requires longer rest periods.

CARDIO

>> Don't perform any cardio on Get Big Meal Plan days; this helps muscle tissue replenish low levels of glycogen. And skip the pickup basketball.

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DIET

>> For the first three days of the week (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday), eat six times a day to keep your metabolism elevated despite limited calories. (See the "Get Cut Meal Plan.")